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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. board — a committee
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mate — to breed
  5. bound — tied together
  6. spring — the season
  7. board — to get on
  8. spring — a coil
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. kid — child
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — certain
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — to tease
  17. spring — of water
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. pass — a permit
  22. mate — a friend
  23. bat — the animal
  24. pass — to spend time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com